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Microbiology Technical Sales Specialist
- The US Pharmacopeial Convention (USP) (St. Paul, MN)
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Description
Who is USP?
The U.S. Pharmacopeial Convention (USP) is an independent scientific organization that collaborates with the world’s leading health and science experts to develop rigorous quality standards for medicines, dietary supplements, and food ingredients. At USP, we believe that scientific excellence is driven by a commitment to fairness, integrity, and global collaboration. This belief is embedded in our core value of Passion for Quality and is demonstrated through the contributions of more than 1,300 professionals across twenty global locations, working to strengthen the supply of safe, high-quality medicines worldwide.
At USP, we value inclusive scientific collaboration and recognize that attracting diverse expertise strengthens our ability to develop trusted public health standards. We foster an organizational culture that supports equitable access to mentorship, professional development, and leadership opportunities. Our partnerships, standards, and research reflect our belief that ensuring broad participation in scientific leadership results in stronger, more impactful outcomes for global health.
USP is proud to be an equal employment opportunity employer (EEOE) and is committed to ensuring fair, merit-based selection processes that enable the best scientific minds—regardless of background—to contribute to advancing public health solutions worldwide. We provide reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities and uphold policies that create an inclusive and collaborative work environment.
Brief Job Overview
The Technical Sales Specialist will serve as a subject matter expert in facilitating support related to USP Microbiology products and their use. The incumbent will (1) provide expertise to support the resolution of technical questions and ensure clear communication of product-related information, (2) collaborate internally and externally as a technical expert in microbiology and (3) engage in inside sales activities.
This position requires close collaboration with the Technical Services team and colleagues across the USP Microbiology Unit, including the business development and marketing teams, to ensure technical inquiries are addressed effectively and accurately. The incumbent will be responsible for managing customer inquiries related to Microbiology products through a CRM, including responding to customers directly. The incumbent will be responsible for helping to resolve customer inquiries promptly and equipping internal teams with the knowledge and resources needed for various activities.
The incumbent will also work to enhance and streamline processes, tools, and resources to improve inquiry resolution. Additionally, the Technical Sales Specialist will engage in inside sales activities, including nurturing leads and supporting efforts to convert those leads into business opportunities.
This is a hybrid position requiring 60% monthly onsite presence in our St Paul, MN location.
How will YOU create impact here at USP?
As part of our mission to advance scientific rigor and public health standards, you will play a vital role in increasing global access to high-quality medicines through public standards and related programs. USP prioritizes scientific integrity, regulatory excellence, and evidence-based decision-making to ensure health systems worldwide can rely on strong, tested, and globally relevant quality standards.
Additionally, USP’s People and Culture division, in partnership with the Equity Office, invests in leadership and workforce development to equip all employees with the skills to create high-performing, inclusive teams. This includes training in equitable management practices and tools to promote engaged, collaborative, and results-driven work environments.
_The Microbiology Technical Sales Specialist has the following responsibilities:_
• Manage and help resolve inquiries from customers, distributors, and USP colleagues via email, video call, and phone to efficiently address product and service issues and maintain high levels of customer satisfaction.
• Ensure departmental efficiencies, including customer response time and issue resolution time, are met or exceeded by providing necessary technical product expertise and subject matter expertise.
• Conduct inside sales activities, leveraging your technical and subject matter expertise to drive adoption of relevant products and offerings.
• Assist in development of front-line support tools for scalability, including creating training material for new customers and new employees.
• Assist/participate in support-related lab work that includes hands-on training of USP Microbiology products for customers, distributors, and colleagues.
• In conjunction with colleagues, generate customer facing technical documentation including FAQs, troubleshooting guides, user guides, application notes.
• Assist QA, marketing, sales, and other teams by providing support and expertise from a technical perspective.
• Assist colleagues including business development, marketing and product development teams through contribution of technical expertise and information related to interactions with customers to ensure continuous product improvement.
• Maintain critical customer related data using CRM software tools (SalesForce).
Who is USP Looking For?
The successful candidate will have a demonstrated understanding of our mission, commitment to excellence through inclusive and equitable behaviors and practices, ability to quickly build credibility with stakeholders, along with the following competencies and experience:
• Bachelor's degree in Microbiology, Biology, or related life science field plus five (5) to seven (7) years’ experience in technical sales, application specialist, and/or QC microbiology laboratory roles in life science industry in North America – OR Master’s degree in Microbiology, Biology, or related life science field plus three (3) to five (5) years’ experience in technical sales, application specialist, and/or QC microbiology laboratory roles in life science industry in North America.
• Microbiology working knowledge and expertise from technical or laboratory experiences.
• Outstanding problem solving and interpersonal skills.
• Excellent relationship-building skills with customers.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Technical experience in microbiology.
• Attention to detail while ensuring urgency to respond to customers.
• Ability to multi-task, prioritize and manage time effectively.
• Ability to work in full autonomy in a high-paced growth environment, with the capacity to use discretion and independent judgement.
• Strong teamwork.
• Proficiency using CRM software (SalesForce preferred).
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite software, including Excel, Word, PowerPoint.
Additional Desired Preferences
• Microbiology laboratory experience and/or microbiology experience in pharmaceutical industry. Experience with microbiology quality control testing in GMP environment is a plus.
• Experience with environmental monitoring, disinfectant qualification/validation/efficacy testing, growth promotion testing, bioburden testing, sterility testing, and/or rapid microbiology methods is a plus.
• 3+ years of experience in pharma/ biopharma microbiology QA/QC is a plus.
• Advanced degree or certifications in microbiology-related field is a plus.
• Strong problem-solving skills with customer-centric approach.
Supervisory Responsibilities
None, this is an individual contributor role.
Benefits
USP provides the benefits to protect yourself and your family today and tomorrow. From company-paid time off and comprehensive healthcare options to retirement savings, you can have peace of mind that your personal and financial well-being is protected.
Compensation
Base Salary Range: USD $73,400.00 – $93,300.00 annually.
Target Annual Bonus: % Varies based on level of role.
Individual compensation packages are based on various factors unique to each candidate’s skill set, experience, qualifications, equity, and other job-related reasons.
Note: USP does not accept unsolicited resumes from 3rd party recruitment agencies and is not responsible for fees from recruiters or other agencies except under specific written agreement with USP.
Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities
This employer is required to notify all applicants of their rights pursuant to federal employment laws.
For further information, please review the Know Your Rights (https://www.eeoc.gov/poster) notice from the Department of Labor.
**Job Category** Chemistry & Scientific Standards
**Job Type** Full-Time
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Microbiology Technical Sales Specialist
- The US Pharmacopeial Convention (USP) (St. Paul, MN)